Brett’s statement

Ken Wagstaff, Maynard Skinner, Brett Lee, and Ann Evans My name is Brett Lee and I am running for Davis City Council. I am running because Davis faces some very serious challenges. To deal with these challenges, the City needs an independent, analytical problem solver with a good understanding of the Davis Community who is willing to tackle these issues head on. If elected, I will work with my fellow council members to accomplish the following:

Protect the amenities of our community. I believe we can maintain and improve city services without increasing taxes. Davis is a great place to live due in part to the parks, greenbelts, and variety of recreational and senior services to which we all have access. We must maintain these amenities to keep Davis a desirable, attractive community.

Provide affordable and wisely managed water for Davis. In the long run, I believe we as a community need access to Sacramento River water. Fifty to one hundred years from now, we do not want to lament the fact that we gave up on our chance for free access to the River water.

However, I support placing the water rate referendum on the ballot. I believe a commitment by the City of Davis to a long-term expenditure of this magnitude should be placed before all of the voters.

I personally believe the proposed rate structure can be further improved to more strongly reward conservation. I believe the rate structure can be changed to assure that those who actively conserve water do not see double-digit rate increases.

Require that any growth be community driven, not developer driven. The city’s growth should be community driven, not developer driven. Growth should pay for itself, benefit the community and not add to the City’s cost burden.

Provide economic growth opportunities. We need a vibrant local economy. We must promote business friendly approaches that are in character with our values and benefit our community by providing jobs and local revenue.

Provide critical oversight to our City administration. In recent years our City Management and prior Councils have not adequately dealt with the threats to the fiscal health and stability of the city. The City Council must provide strong leadership and hold City management accountable. We must adhere to a realistic and affordable city government. I pledge to be a strong voice to accomplish that.

Protect the character and viability of the downtown. The Davis Downtown is a treasure that should be protected and promoted. Our pedestrian, bicycle and auto-friendly downtown must be preserved. Any large scale parking garages should be kept on the periphery of the downtown. The City should not build ugly and inappropriate parking structures in the center of our downtown.

Promote improved pedestrian and neighborhood safety. Our quality of life is directly related to having safe, walkable neighborhoods and streets. All of us (kids, seniors, etc.) benefit when we make proactive efforts to improve safety. I am a supporter of the 5 th Street Redesign efforts.

Promote landlord and tenant responsibility. Landlords should be held responsible if their rental properties are used as ongoing “party houses”. Too often, neighbors have the unenviable task of repeatedly asking tenants to behave in a considerate manner. At the same time, tenants are often unfairly denied their cleaning deposits, or do not receive prompt repairs on their units from unresponsive absentee landlords. While the best solution is for all of our community to observe the golden rule, I will work to create better City enforcement policies to protect the rights of tenants and neighbors.

I have enjoyed the beauty, innovation and safety of growing up in Davis. Today the city faces enormous challenges. I believe I can offer independent solutions to solve those challenges. I want Davis to be more effective in its use of natural resources and make Davis once again a model for innovative community planning. As I campaign throughout Davis I shall look forward to speaking with all our citizens to listen and learn and share my ideas about how to preserve and improve our wonderful community. I ask for your vote. Please join me as I work to preserve and protect Davis.

Brett attended Valley Oak Elementary School for kindergarten and part of first grade but at age five, he and his mother moved to San Francisco. However, for the next ten years, Brett spent his summers living with his grandparents in Davis.

Brett attended the UC Berkeley School of Engineering, graduating in 1987 with a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research.

The following year Brett enrolled at the London School of Economics studying Industrial Relations, graduating with a master’s degree in 1989.

Brett has worked for The Flying Tigers Air Cargo Company as an industrial engineer where he performed staffing and performance improvement projects in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Japan and Taipei.

He worked as an engineer for FedEx at their West Coast Hub in Oakland for ten years, responsible for productivity and service improvements, development of yearly operating budgets and cost justifications for new projects. He then transferred to FedEx World Headquarters in Memphis, Tennessee and worked for four years in the Business Planning and Forecasting Department. As a business planner he evaluated projects to determine feasibility and financial desirability. He was actively involved in using Six Sigma and Lean Sigma approaches to service improvement and cost reduction.

Media

Comments:

2012-07-05 16:18:20 Congratulations on your successful run for city council. Please keep on eye on how the 5th Street Road Diet impacts parallel streets such as E. 8th between the railroad tracks and "B" Street during the Fall 2012 construction period. We need some attention on this unofficial bicycle boulevard used by hundreds of children at six different schools, their parents and many UC Davis students. —fknochenhauer